The Expendables 2 (2012)

The Expendables 2 Synopsis

The Expendables are back and this time itís personal...Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone), Lee Christmas (Jason Statham), Yin Yang (Jet Li), Gunner Jensen (Dolph Lundgren), Toll Road (Randy Couture) and Hale Caesar (Terry Crews) -- with newest members Billy the Kid (Liam Hemsworth) and Maggie (Yu Nan) aboard -- are reunited when Mr. Church (Bruce Willis) enlists the Expendables to take on a seemingly simple job. The task looks like an easy paycheck for Barney and his band of old-school mercenaries. But when things go wrong and one of their own is viciously killed, the Expendables are compelled to seek revenge in hostile territory where the odds are stacked against them. Hell-bent on payback, the crew cuts a swath of destruction through opposing forces, wreaking havoc and shutting down an unexpected threat in the nick of time ó five tons of weapons-grade plutonium, far more than enough to change the balance of power in the world. But that's nothing compared to the justice they serve against the villainous adversary who savagely murdered their brother.

Here's some intense silliness for you to enjoy on your Labor Day holiday-- some mashup geniuses online have asked the all-important question, "What if Pixar made The Expendables 2?" and used a bunch of footage from the Toy Story movies to imagine just that. Turns out, there are more explosions and opportunities to use Jason Statham's voice in the Toy Story universe than you'd think

The Expendables 2 just spent its second weekend on top of the box office in the United States, but if you haven't managed to catch it yet, we're now making sure you have no excuses. Today we're running a contest that will reward one lucky winner with $30 in Fandango Bucks-- perfect to pay for a movie ticket or maybe three depending on where you live

It was a quiet weekend at the box office as the usual end-of-summer doldrums began to set in. There were two wide release newcomers and one expanding release for audiences to dive into, but none of them managed to make more than $7 million or break into the top five.

This weekend the reigning box office champion The Expendables 2 was looking close to getting pushed out by a documentary that I, here in New York, had never even heard of. But while the polemical documentary 2016: Obama's America is doing much bigger business than most docs

If the gang is getting back together for more bullet-riddled action, you can count one of the new cast members out. Chuck Norris talked to Access Hollywood on the red carpet for Expendables 2 and admitted, ďThis is it for me.Ē

Though The Expendables has obviously become a brand name, with two hit films now out there and rumors of a third all over the place, the concept of uniting a bunch of famous action stars isn't something you can copyright. So while we may never get an official female version of The Expendables

With The Expendables 2, Sparkle and ParaNorman all new and in wide release, holdovers like The Bourne Legacy and The Campaign are finding some competition, and it's pretty easy to tell what will take Bourne's #1 spot. The Expendables 2

The Expendables 2 does make room for one woman on the team, in what looks like a nod toward gender equity but quickly devolves into the same old pandering bullshit. Maggie (Nan Yu) is an expert safecracker sent to help them in a crucial part of the mission, but the minute he learns she's a woman, Sylvester Stallone's Barney snarls "I'm not a babysitter."

Two years after Sylvester Stallone united a dream team of 80s action stars (plus Jason Statham and Jet Li) to kick some ass in a foreign jungle the gang is largely back together again for The Expendables 2, which adds even more muscle to the call sheet if you can believe it

This week on Operation Kino, we struggle onward after Matt Patches's tragic death in the Quarter Quell to review ParaNorman (it's also possible Patches is on vacation! Stay tuned for the thrilling conclusion next week!) The three of us remaining also get into a lightning round inspired by The Odd Life of Timothy Green

In The Expendables 2 there is a scene in which the entire gang is hanging around a bar and we get to hear the backstory of Gunner, the character played by Dolph Lundgren. To everyoneís surprise itís revealed that he is actually a certified genius who got his degree in chemical engineering from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, his masters from the University of Sydney and was then offered the Fulbright Scholarship to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology...

Sylvester Stallone isnít really known for his comedy. While he does have a few funny movies on his resume (or at least movies that were supposed to be funny), heís largely known for boxing, firing guns and killing Vietnamese. But if you ask Terry Crews, who has a solid comedic background of his own, about the humor of Stallone his answer may surprise you.

If you're a fan of the testosterone-pumped, explosion and gunfire-packed action movies of the 80s, you've probably already bought your tickets to see The Expendables 2, the follow-up to the 2010 movie that features even more classic action stars fighting in the name of badassery

Weíre only a few hours from packing up the old family wagon and heading out for the obligatory trip to Niagara Falls to watch water pouring over the side of a cliff. Should be amazing. But before hitting the road weíve got some flicks to cover. Itís action superstars, kids born in gardens, kids fighting the undead and teenage singing sensations.

Back in October a tragedy occurred on the set of Simon West's The Expendables 2. While shooting outside of Sofia, Bulgaria with the second unit stunt team, a stuntman was killed and another one was injured during an explosion scene. Now the family of the dead stuntman is taking legal action against Millenium Entertainment, Nu Image and the film's stunt coordinator.

Two years ago, at the panel for the first Expendables movie, Terry Crews stood on top of the table onstage in Hall H and ripped off his shirt. We have no idea if we should expect something similarly spectacular this time around, but Crews will definitely be back, along with a ton of his muscle-bound co-stars

Say what you will about what we now can't avoid calling The Expendables franchise, but they sure know how to market to their strengths. The first movie was a medicore action movie that got attention for its crammed all-star cast, and now there's a sequel coming with even more old-school stars

This August The Expendables 2 is aiming to be named the action-heavy spectacle of the year, and while that that may or may not end up being true, it will most definitely have a chance to earn a crown for biggest blockbuster cast. Building on the number of action stars that appeared in the first film, director Simon West's sequel ups the ante by having Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Chuck Norris, Dolph Lundgren, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Terry Crews, Jean-Claude Van Damme...

There may be a lot of action films on their way this summer, but it's unlikely any of them will hold a candle to The Expendables 2, which in all its advertising so far has promised nothing short of the most explosions, punches, quips and aging action stars you've ever seen in a single movie.

Thanks to Paramount deciding to push G.I. Joe: Retaliation to 2013, this summer has decidedly less Bruce Willis action. The actor will be playing the original G.I. Joe in the film who helps Dwayne Johnson, D.J. Cotrona and Adrianne Palicki stop Cobra Commander and the shapeshifter that has taken over the White House. Fortunately, however, that wasn't the only summer movie of 2012 to feature Bruce Willis.

To be fair, Lionsgate deserves credit for making the whole thing a bit meta, and when it's coming to you from the energetic Terry Crews, you feel a little less resentful for being shown a 10-second sizzle reel of explosions that don't actually resemble the trailer that's to come

The Expendables 2 is bringing in a lot of new tough guys to join in the mayhem this summer, but you can't have a proper sequel without some returning characters. That's why we're especially excited to debut today the exclusive character poster featuring Jet Li

Despite having an R rating - something that every studio in the free world is absolutely terrified by - The Expendables was one of the biggest hits of summer 2010, pulling in $274 million at the international box office on an $80 million budget. Everything we've heard about the sequel since then has suggested that every element will be bigger and better...

Sly Stallone's first Expendables movies was the definition of a boy's club. While there were some members of the fairer sex in the movie, like Giselle Itie and Charisma Carpenter, it was the men that were all of the action and violence. That will change in The Expendables 2. In the sequel, the returning cast members are joined by Chinese actress Yu Nan and she won't simply be the damsel in distress.

We werenít given a lot to go on in the recently released trailer for Expendables 2 and a similar less-is-more approach seems to have been taken with the poster for the film. If this poster does hint at anything, itís that a lot of destruction is in the cards for the new film... and Barney Ross.

Those looking forward to the sequel to The Expendables will be pleased to know the trailer has arrived online. The video for the Simon West directed action movie doesnít give much away about the plot, but it does offer a glimpse at the main cast.

On the list of "manly" sports, tennis doesn't really rank towards the top of the list. Sure, the athletes in the sport are some of the most physically capable in the world (do you have the strength to hit a serve 155 mph?) but are still placed behind the men who professionally play football, basketball, hockey and baseball. But how many active players in those sports have a role in a movie alongside Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Chuck Norris, and every other major action star from the last 30 years?

Everyone in the poster seems to have been Photoshop-buffed to a high sheen, including Jason Statham and Terry Crews, who are really pretty young compared to the rest of the crowd. There's also a strange switcheroo between the credits at the top, which list the absent Liam Hemsworth, Jet Li and Randy Couture

Producers Nu Image/Millennium Films release a statement confirming the accident, and promised that "The filmmakers are working closely with the authorities in responding to and investigating this accident." There's no word on whether or not they're slowing down production, or exactly what the investigation might involve

Writer Marcus Webb filed the lawsuit in Manhattan federal court. He's claiming that Stallone's The Expendables bears too many similarities, and in some cases is identical, to a screenplay he wrote entitled The Cordoba Caper. The suit also names Stallone's co-screenwriter David Callaham, Millennium Films, Nu Image Films, and Lions Gate Entertainment

Even when the first Expendables movie was coming together people were questioning why Chuck Norris wasn't involved. While Norris hasn't actually been in a movie since 2005, his career has been kept alive by the internet, with the "Chuck Norris Facts" meme becoming insanely popular and staying that way for years.

For one Expendables cast member, that title has proved all too accurate when it comes to the sequel. Mickey Rourke, who played an old friend and former teammate of Sylvester Stallone's Barney Ross in the 2010 action hit, will not be returning for the 2012 sequel.

Earlier this month it was rumored that Jean-Claude Van Damme, Chuck Norris and Scott Adkins had joined the ranks of Simon West's The Expendables 2. A few days later the Van Damme and Norris roles were confirmed, but there was still a big question: is Scott Adkins in or out? Today the answer to that query has arrived.

When it comes to action movie sequels, traditionally, bigger really is better. So how does an action movie like The Expendables top itself for the sequel, when the original film was already packed with an all-star cast? Bring in more all-stars, thatís how!

Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger, who played Mr. Church and Trench, respectively, in the 2010 blockbuster, are set to return for The Expendables 2. While the story doesn't explain how the two actors will be included in the plot, it does say that their roles will be "substantial."

One other casting element not yet confirmed is Jet Li, who rumor has it won't return for the sequel. If that's the case they really, really need to get Yen on board, or at least someone else who can represent Hong Kong action movies, which are just as influential if not more so than the 80s macho American action films that most of this cast represents.

Norris is an obvious choice to stand in this lineup of beefy 80s action stars looking for one last bit of action. The real surprise here is Travolta, no stranger to action movies exactly, but not an icon of the genre like the rest of these guys, and given his upcoming role as John Gotti in Gotti: In The Shadow Of My Father

Director Simon West may not have the greatest track record in the world, but he did make one of my favorite guilty pleasure movies ever: Con Air. Stacked with an awesome ensemble cast, the movie is absolutely ridiculous but it's also made of pure energy and fun. Whenever I turn on the TV and Con Air is playing, I can't help but sit my ass on the sofa for two hours and marvel at it.

There have been no official casting announcements about The Expendables 2, beyond word in late March that "most of the original cast" is signed on to come back, but it seems safe to expect the central figures of Stallone, Statham, Li, etc. to make a return. Hey, now that Schwarzenegger is heading back to movies in a big way

Ever since The Expendables became a hit at the box office last August, fans have been wondering about the sequel, specifically who would be added to the cast. But while we still don't know if Jean-Claude Van Damme or Chuck Norris will be joining the crew, one space just opened up: the director's chair.